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3 Sheets Sheet 1.

(No Modell) J. STRONG.

PIANOFORTE 0R MANETTE.

Patented Mar. 16,1897.

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PIANOFORTE 0R PIANBTTE.

No. 578,782. Patented Mar. 16, 1897.

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J. STRONG.

PIANOFORTE OR PIANETTE.

PatentedMar. 16,1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOSEPH STRONG, OF LISMORE, NEV SOUTH VALES.

PIANOFORTE OR PIANETTE.

SPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,782, dated March 16,1897'.

Application filed January S1, 1896. Serial No. 577,601. (No model.)

To all whom LT may concern:

Be it known that l, JOSEPH STRONG, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, and a resident of Lismore, in the Oolony of New South lVales,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pianofortes andPianettes, of which the following is a specihcation.

The attachment is a key-compounding mechanism. The keys on the keyboardof the piano or pianette or parts connected therewith are acted on bystrikers or fingers on the compounding-bars in the attachment, whichbars are each operated by a single key. The strikers or fingers on thecompounding-bars are placed in such positions that the depression of thebars will cause them to operate such of the keys of the instrument aswill produce a chord. Thus when the iingerkeys of the compounding-barsof the attachment are struck the corresponding chord is sounded just asif all the keys on the keyboard of the instrument had been struck in theordinary way. There is a compoundingbar provided for the treble of everychord, and the linger-keys of these bars are marked to indicate theirvalues and to show which of them correspond. Thus the keys of the groupconnected with the middle octave (treble) are numbered from l to 7, andthere is a plate beside them inscribed Major chords or words or lettersto that effect. Other groups are similarly indicated, and for greaterclearness the keys controlling chords of the minor are indicated by redcoloring or guring, while those of the major are indicated by blackcoloring or figuring. A similar system of coloring or liguring is in usefor the bass, where simply keys and not compounding-bars are preferablyused. The iinger-keys referring to all major chords are marked l to 7 5those referring to the minor, S to 12, and these referring to modulatingchords 13 and 14.

The attachment is adapted to be placed over the keys er connected partsof a piano or pianette,whose ordinary construction must be somewhataltered to allow of this being done. This alteration involves the doingaway with the common keyboard and the substitution for it of a keyboardall the keys of which are of equal width and on the same level. Theattachment is so set up that it can be moved along the keyboard just asa type-writer carriage can be moved on its bed. By such a movement itcan be set to any key in a moment, with which end in View it is providedwith a pointer which moves across an indicator-plate on the piano-frame,on which plate the names of the tonic notes corresponding to the severalpositions of the attachment are inscribed.

The strikers ou the compounding-bars are spaced so that they will strikekeys separated by the proper intervals. As the chords of any key areseverally produced by striking keys the intervals between which arealike for corresponding chords the positions of these strikers will bealways correct whatever key the attachment may be placed for. Thus theiirst major chord will consist of sounds between which there are fixedintervals irrespective of the key, and so on through the seven major,five minor, and two modulating chords which the attachment is adapted toproduce. To produce the first major chord of the key to which theattachment is set, the linger-key marked l (in black) of the groupbracketed as major is struck with a iinger of the right hand, while oneof or the two linger-keys in the bass marked l (in black) and separatedby the distance of a complete octave are struck with the left hand. Anyother of the thirteen remaining chords are struck in the same manner. Inthe treble the series of chords is duplicated in the up` per octave,whereby the player is given op` portunity to play the chord in the twooctaves or to choose either octave at will.

Referring to the annexed sheets of drawings, Figure l is a sectionthrough a piano to which my invention is applied; Fig. 2, a plan ofsame, the top of the case being removed; Fig. 3, a front view thereof;Fig. 4, a section through another piano having a different action andalso having the compounding attachment connected with it; Fig. 5, a planof the arrangement sectioned in Fig. a, Fig. G, longitudinal sectionillustrative of the construction of the key-compounding attachment; Fig.7, a top plan of same; Fig. 8, a bottom plan of same; Figs. i) and lO,detail of compounding-bars.

Referring to Fig. l, A is the piano-wire; B,

IOO

one of the ordinary keys 3 C, the compounding attachment; D, the hammer;(l, the hammerbutt; cl, a toe-piece thereon faced with felt; (Z2, thecenter-pin of the hammer; E, the sticker, connected flexibly at its endsto the key B and to the intermediate bars E', which are supported andsustained in normal position by a spring-carrier e. On the outer end ofthe bar E a beak or claw G is mounted. It is set on a screwed pin G, onwhich are two nuts G2, which bite itand keep it in place, so that it maybe adjusted to fit the toe ofthe hammer. il is a damper whose pad lilies normally in contact with the wire A, in which position it is keptby the spring 7L, its outer end h2 being in contact with the bar E. l aspring for tripping back the hammer, to which it is connected by a wireloop l. 7When the key B is depressed, it aets through the sticker on theintermediate bar E, which it depresses, thereby bringing down the hammerand raising the damper at the same moment as in ordinary piano-actions.The compounding attachment acts on the bars E' just as the keys do.

Referring to Figs. e and 5, illustrative of the alternative action,similar letters of reference refer to like parts. The hammer is providedwith a counterbalanced butt J, and the forward part of the butt isconnected by a flexible stirrup K to theintermcdiate bar E', which ismounted on a pin c and counterbalanced by a weight e2.4 The hopper L ispivoted at L to the bar E, and a light spring L2 thereon acts upon it,tending to push it backward. lts point works in the notch Li in the buttJ. M is a check-buffer whose shank M works in a carrier M2, on thehopper, there being' a set-screw Mto bite it. The damper is operated byconnections almost identical with those described in the previousarrangement. The intermediate bar E is connected to the power end of thedamper-lever through a sticker N. Near the top end of the hopper awiper-arm or eseapement O is set pivotally at o upon it. This wiper isacted upon by a setting-screw O', which works through a bracket O2 onthe hopper. O3 is a stop or check to prevent the hopper overrurning. Thewiper-arm O slides on the edge of the escapment-rail l), its contactwith which causes the toe of the hopper to move toward the hammer-head.The point at which the escapement action commences is determined by thesetting of the screw O. Q is the keycenter pin, and Qthe key-balancepin. @fis a light spring on the key-rail Q3, and Q;L is a connectionjoining the spring Q2 and the intermediate bar E. The bars E are ofequal width and spacing. One of them is provided for every key. Brieflydescribed, the action of this mechanism is as fellows: The movement ofthe key B is imparted to the intermediate bar E by the sticker E, and asthis bar E moves down it raises the damper H through the sticker N, andit forces down the hopper L, which, engaging at its lower end mense withthe hammer, throws the same down to strike the string and is releasedtherefrom by the wiper O coming in contact with the cscapement-rail l?and swinging the hopper on its pivot, and as the hammer completes itsmovement its rear part strikes the checkbuffer fil..

It will be seen on reference to the drawings that the compoundingattachment C is placed between thc keys ll and the outer or guided endof the intermediate bar E and that it need not be removed to allow aperformer te manipulate the keys l, which he may do independently of theattachment or to procure additional effects. The working surl'aces ofthe parts in the action are shod with felt or other substance ordinarilyused by pian omakers for this purpose. Either of the actions may beIitted with pedal mechanism of any suitable well-known construction.

Fig. illustrates the front view of a pianctte having my compoundingattachment fitted to it, and Figs. t3 to l0 details of the attachment.

R is a knee-clip fastened to the attachment, by means of which it can bemoved alongthe keyboard readily, so as to transpose from one key toanother without necessitating the removal of the opcrators hands fromthe keyboard. R is the pointer and ltgthe indicatorplate, by means ofwhich the key to which the attachment is set is indicated.

The left-hand or bass end of the attachment need not be provided withcompounding mechanism, which is necessary only in the treble,7 but, ifdesired, the bass may be similarly compounded. It is preferred tocompound the bass when the compass of the compounding attachment is madeto exceed, say, four and a half octaves. The frame of the attachment isoblong and consists of a boxlike structure open at the bottom. side andhaving in it guides and carriers for the simple and compound strikers,the former of which are in the bass and the latter in the treble. Thesimple strikers S are sin glo studs, one to each key, set in verticalslides and having light springs S to maintain them in the normalposit-ion, as shown in Fig. (l. Upon any one of these strikers bein gdepressed by the operator it moves the corresponding intermediate bar E'below it and so throws the action into motion. Upon the pressure of thefinger being withdrawn the striker rcsumes its normal position. Thecompound strikers consist of bars T, moving in guides U, and providedwith button-headed pins T to make contact with the intermediate bars E,which require to be moved to strike the chord to which the strikercorresponds. There is provided also a linger contact-piece V on the topside of each of the strikers. These pieces pass through slots in the topplate of the attacinnent. The bars T move on guidepins lV, which passthrough holes bored in them.

positions by light spiral springs X, which are ixed about the guides lV.

They are supported in their normal IOO IIO

To produce the iirst major chord of the key to which the attachmentisset, the strikers in the bass to which the number l is affixed aredepressed, as a piano-key, with :lingers of the left hand, and eitherorboth keys similarly marked in the maj or-groups in the treble arestruck with a ringer or iin gers of the right hand. Any other of thefourteen chords is produced by selecting strikers similarly marked andstriking them with {ingers of the right hand.

The action7 illustrated in Fig. l has been devised to adapt a pianoforteor pianette to be operated by an attachment of the nature describedplaced between the ordinary keyboard andthe fulcra of theintermediatebars, while the action in Fig. et has been designed for use when theordinary keyboard is between the attachment and the said fulcra.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of mysaidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim isl. In combination, the hammer, the ordinary keys, theintermediate bars E with connections to the hammers, and the compoundingmechanism, both the ordinary keys and the compounding` mechanism beingarranged over the intermediate bars E and at different points along thesame to act thereon independently, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the hammers, the keys, the compounding mechanism, theintermediate bars E, a hopper pivoted to the intermediate bar andengaging the hammers, an adjustable escapement comprising a rail and apiece on the hopper to contact therewith and the adjustable cheek-bufferM on the hopper, both the keys and the compounding mechanism beingarranged at different points over the bars E', substantially asdescribed.

In Witness whereof I havehereuntoset my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOSEPH STRONG.

lVitnesses:

W. l'. SPRUsoN, W. I. DAVIS.

